Treason
by Tendencies' Wrath
Summary: He wanted to leave, he only wished to be away from the pain, but they kept on pestering him with their tries to take him back. Luckily enough, he had new friends on his side, and they did understand him, still, he wanted to get rid of the one that forced him to take that decision. He was not alone after all, an ally appeared in the most unlikely of places to help him. On Hiatus.
1. Prologue: The Downfall

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I own the idea for the fic.**

* * *

**Treason**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

**Chapter 0: The downfall.**

It was after the 4th day's defeat that he found himself wandering through the city in thinking, the tag battle was suspended for the next day so the teams could let out some steam; after the act Sabertooth pulled on Fairy Tail, the organizers believed it was better than having to rebuild the stadium.

So, the teams were ordered to head back to their hotels, cool down and prepare for the next day.

The night came and everyone was already going to their designated buildings, everyone but him. He needed fresh air to think, he needed to think hard about what was going on in the Tournament, he couldn't waste a minute now, he knew that his teammates were out in the city looking for him before time was up and they were penalized for not having all their members inside the building in which they were staying.

But it was 10pm, and he knew that he had time before anything could happen.

'What should we do? When it comes to skill, we win, but when it comes to strength…' He scratched his head furiously at the thought, trying hard to not let it win over his natural strong will and trust on the guild. He looked at the reflection of his face in the water; he was sitting on a bridge and staring at whatever called his attention, but mostly at his frowning face in the river. 'What's wrong with me? I shouldn't doubt our strength! We'll come out victorious as always!'

"Oh? What do we have here?" A voice full of pride asked to his side, making him turn his head to look at the one talking, discovering with some rage and surprised that it was all of Sabertooth's team coming from the direction their accommodations were. Sting, Rogue, Orga, Rufus and Minerva… all of them, standing close to the bridge in which he was sitting and smiling smugly at their luck, find the fire dragon-slayer alone was something surprising in all levels; Rufus being the one to notice him first, started the banter, taking one and two steps closer to the pink-haired. "A Fairy…? Away from his safe ground? How wrong is that?"

"Very wrong." Orga said with some mirth, cracking his knuckles in anticipation to the fight that might come.

"Now now, don't hurry yourself, Orga, we're here to talk… right?" Minerva said with a small smile to the fire Dragon-slayer, who was looking at her with all the hatred he had piled down inside after the torture she gave to Lucy at the Naval Battle. "Oh, come on, I'm sorry for what happened to your friend… it's just that your guild's arrogance gets to my nerves from time to time."

"Arrogance?" He asked in a low growl, jumping down from his sitting position to stand close to the group; his glare fighting the smug faces of Fiore's -now- strongest wizards. "Arrogance? We're nothing like that! We fight for our nakama…!"

"…and for their sake and bla bla bla, yes, I have all your speech in my memory." Rufus said in a bored tone, waving a hand in dismissal at the dragon-slayer before stepping forward; closing the distance between him and the shocked pink-haired. "But, tell us, Natsu-san; is it really Fairy Tail your reason for fighting?"

"W-what?" The dragon-slayer asked taken aback, staring at his enemies incredulously, his mind trying to understand his words. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, god, he's denser than what I imagined…" Minerva said with annoyance, walking away and letting her team partners deal with the pink-haired, she didn't have the patience to convince someone so strong-headed; Rogue walked forward, standing a few centimeters away from Natsu, next to Rufus, and looking at him in the eye with complete seriousness.

"Do you fight for your guild or to prove your strength?" He asked simply, the dragon-slayer taking a step back at the imposing figure of the shadow dragon-slayer and his words; his mind jumbling, his confusion from earlier plus the words of Sabertooth's strongest starting to pain his mind. "Do you fight for glory or for the safety of your friends?"

"Yeah, are you sure you're not confusing your thoughts, Natsu-san?" Sting asked nonchalantly, getting closer too, standing in between Rogue and Rufus. "Are you sure of what you're fighting for?"

"W-what I'm fighting for?" Natsu said in between gasps of breath, the words and thoughts taking its toll on him. Rufus nodded to his question and the blond's words.

"Yes, Natsu-san, would you act the same if you were in Sabertooth or would you just fight to prove who's stronger?"

The pink-haired kneeled at the question, the words hurting and confusing him even more, his hands going up to grab his head, his fingers pressing hard against his scalp. Rufus smirked at the action, knowing by memory that he was getting through the thick head of the Fairy.

"Oe, I believe you fight for power." Orga commented to him, calling his attention and stepping forward to stand in between the other three, Rogue moving to stand behind the pink-haired. "You scream 'Nakama!' but I see that you fight to see who's stronger…"

"I… I don't do that…" Natsu whispered with some of his old will trying to fight back this new idea settling inside of him. The men around him giving soft smiles at his conflicted state, having felt that way some point in their lives; Rufus stepped forward, kneeling in front of the confused boy and laying a hand on his shoulder; a reassuring smile making the pink-haired look at him in hope and confusion.

"We all felt like that, Natsu-san, but we came to terms with it." He said sharply, remembering with exactitude the moment when Genma –Sabertooth's Master- appeared and told him the truth lying behind the words he used to yell. "We fight to prove our strength to everyone, to those that made us ate the dirt and taste the sour flavor of defeat; to show that were are not weak!"

"W-weak…"

"Yeah, we're not weak, that's why we joined Sabertooth!" Sting continued, looking at his old idol with some pity; somewhere inside of him not liking to see the fire dragon-slayer in that state. "We are the strongest of all mages, and we prove it by joining Sabertooth and showing our power to everyone!"

"P-power…"

"We fight to show our strength, we fight for our guild, we fight for the mistakes of our past;" Rogue said parsimoniously, nodding to his teammates words. "Are we really that different from your guild, Natsu-san?"

"Y-you… I… We…" He tried to speak but the mess in his mind prevented him from doing so, he couldn't think right, his mind was fighting against itself. These new ideas against the ones he had since he joined Fairy Tail. And a winner was not discernible in that cruel battle. But then, Orga laid a hand on his head, smiling sincerely to him.

"We fight for ourselves and our guild, we take care of our own and those that we look worthy of our attention," He said to him softly, the pink-haired looking at him with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "We are the same, Natsu-san…"

"W-we are the same…" He repeated in his despair, the battle inside his head finally having a victor. "We are the same!"

"So, Natsu-san," Rufus muttered with a small smirk; seeing that they finally had the man where they wanted him. "Why don't you join us?"

"J-join you…?" Natsu asked in disbelief, not buying their words, believing that they only wanted to break his will to fight; not join them, as they were now saying.

"Yes!" Sting yelled enthusiastically, raising his closed fists to the dark night. "That way, we'll show everyone who's stronger!"

"S-stronger… W-weak…" Natsu muttered one last time, the bastion held by the ideals set on him by Fairy Tail crumbling to these new thoughts in him; he smirked at the end of his inner fighting, raising from his crouching position and grabbing Orga's hand to give a strong handshake. His face contorting into a dark grin at the thought of letting all of his strength out before those in his guild that contained his potential; his former friends and Master. "Count with me."

All of Sabertooth's team, except for Minerva –since she left the place-, smirked at the answer, leading the young boy to their headquarters; their minds imagining the shock on their enemies when they discovered that they had someone new in their team.

Someone they didn't expect.

* * *

_In another place…_

"Did you find him?" Makarov asked to the panting Max and Alzack, his mind going overboard when thinking that they might be disqualified because Natsu was not inside their headquarters before the time set by the tournament's organization was up. "Answer me!"

"N-no, Master!" Max said in between gasps. "W-we didn't find him!"

"Damn that boy!" He said to himself, turning around to enter the building. Not seeing Erza, Gray, Laxus, Gajeel and Happy arrive to the place and start an interrogation in between them.

"I didn't find him near the stadium," Laxus said with some worry, looking at the rest of the mages with a strong gaze. "And you guys?"

"No, we searched the east side of the city and we didn't find him…" Gray answered worriedly in Happy's stead, the blue cat holding back tears for not being able to find his father; Gray's face depicting him as calm and composed, when his body was trembling and letting out some of his magic. "That dumbass! He surely got lost!"

"Chill, icepick, Salamander is not that dumb." Gajeel said with some restrained anger, crossing his arms and standing firmly on the ground to hide his concern better.

"He must be wandering around," Erza said to the others, her face clear of any kind of feeling, a small smile playing its way to her lips; knowing the fire-eating boy, he was surely punching a tree outside the town to let out some steam after the day's outcome in the tournament. She walked inside the building, motioning her teammates to follow her. "Come on, we should go to sleep, he'll appear before midnight, that's certain… if he doesn't wish to face punishment, he'll appear before time's up."

The others shivered at her last words, nodding in her direction and following her like soldiers to a general.

* * *

_The next day…_

The crowd was roaring and screaming the names of those they wanted to win the tournament. Most of the people siding with Sabertooth and Fairy Tail while the others had faith in the other guilds to turn over the tables and be the champions of that year's tournament; so many mages, skilled and experienced ones where taking part now that Fairy Tail's core members returned from Tenrou and that made the anticipation even greater.

"People of Fiore!" Mato, the referee for the games, screamed in joy and calling the attention of the audience to the center of the arena, where he was standing. "It's the fifth day and we now have reached the so long awaited climax of the tournament! We have the tag-team battles! Lamia Scale vs Mermaid Heel! Blue Pegasus vs Quatro Puppy! And the awaited fight between the former and new strongest guild of the country, Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth!"

The people gave a great ovation in reply, not holding back their anxiousness to see the fight between the two most promising guilds of the country.

Mato, however, tilted his head to a side after the first two battles finished, raising a hand to press it where his ear should be. "What? S-seriously? Is that legal? O-okay! I'll do as you say!" He turned to the crowd around him, sweating profusely at what he was going to say. "F-from Fairy Tail! The lightning dragon-slayer, the fierce lighting over Magnolia, Laxus Dreyar! And Fairy Tail's defensive wall, the iron dragon-slayer, Gajeel Redfox!"

* * *

_In the arena's entrance…._

"Did Natsu appear?" Laxus asked with some concern, getting ready to get out on the field with Gajeel following his example. When the others discovered with shock that he didn't return during the night, his grandfather told him to take his place and fight against the Twin Dragons with Gajeel. Mirajane shook her head sadly at his question, her blue eyes looking down in thinking.

"No, Max, Nab and Alzack are still looking out for him, but they didn't find him." She took off Laxus' coat and laid it on a table nearby. "You'll have to take his place as Master said."

"Damn that moron!" Gray exclaimed frustrated, crossing his arms in surrender, glaring at the entrance of the corridor as if the pink-haired was going to come running from it to fight. "Now he's disqualified and won't be able to kick those Sabertooth mages' asses!"

"Gray!" Erza warned with complete seriousness; not a hint of worry on her face, keeping her concern inside of her for the sake of the team. "Natsu is fine, believe in him; meanwhile, let's cheer for Laxus and Gajeel to win this battle."

"Tch, whatever you say." And he left the place, going to the designated area for the team's participating to be.

"Salamander, where the hell are you?" Gajeel whispered to himself, following Laxus' lead and going out to the center of the arena; his ears paining him at the loud cheer the audience was giving, but he kept his façade, giving a strong glare along Laxus to the entrance from which the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth were about to come out.

"People of Fiore! There has being a change from Sabertooth's part!" Mato communicated to the people in the crowd, making them go silent, and the members from Fairy Tail stare oddly at him. He sweated nervously, knowing that his next words were going to shake the stadium and the Fairies at the side. "Sabertooth is going to change its initial formation! There'll be Twin Dragons to please you… but not the ones you thought!"

"What is he talking about?" Makarov asked to himself, calling the attention of his guild behind him; the first master frowning sadly when she felt what was going on in the corridor that was Sabertooth's entrance.

Letting out a small tear that freaked out everyone, she sobbed and shook her head in pain.

"Oh, poor young one… you've been tricked." Makarov looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she was saying; his eyes moving to see the entrance of the mages from Sabertooth and find out by himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mato continued, trying his best to smile and keep his cheerful persona to the audience. "From Sabertooth, I present you, the Twin Dragons of Chaos! The white dragon-slayer, the shining path to victory, Sting Eucliffe! And the fire dragon-slayer, former Fairy Tail member and Sabertooth's new winning card, Natsu Dragneel!"

The whole place went mute at the words, only the sound of steps from the rival guild's corridor echoing inside the grand arena; the members from Fairy Tail, its Tournament Team and those standing in the middle of the arena watching in shock at the two forms coming out to the arena.

"Tch, you killed the mood, Natsu-san." Sting said with some annoyance, his face showing a small smirk when he caught a glimpse of the Fairies and their shocked faces. "Though, I'm not mad about it…"

"Yeah, me neither." The fire-eating mage replied, walking next to the blond to stand at the center of the arena, his face serious and watching at the two shocked dragon-slayers from Fairy Tail staring at him as if they were having a nightmare. His new uniform and guild mark at the back of his left hand leaving the whole guild and the public speechless.

A white vest with golden edges, a belt holding it tightly on his waist and a buckle closing the vest at the chest, a green middle-sleeved shirt underneath that was pressed tightly against his arms and body, and had Sabertooth's guild mark on his arms in a golden color like the one from his vest; his scarf around his neck, a red wristband on his left arm, green trousers and brown boots. He didn't look like Natsu at all, and his face just let that be more obvious.

He was smiling with a scowl in place, small cackles escaping him every now and then at seeing the faces of his past guildmates. Sting nodded at him, putting up his smug smirk back on and crossing his arms while standing in front of the two fighters from Fairy Tail that were still watching at the pink-haired with shock. "Oe, I'm here too, you know?"

Snapping out of his trance, Gajeel growled loudly, glaring at Natsu before turning his eyes to the blond. "What did you do to him, you asshole!"

"Me? Oh-ho! You're asking at the wrong person," He raised a thumb and pointed at the guy next to him. "It was all his doing; he got tired of all of you and joined us… the strongest guild in Fiore."

"Shut up, you…!" Gray yelled from the sidelines, not believing the picture in front of them; but he was stopped by Natsu and his deep serious voice.

"He's right." All of the crown and mages looked with wide eyes at the pink-haired and his unchanged face, his smile growing ever so slightly when remembering how he came to terms with his real intentions. "I joined you guys because I wanted to fight strong opponents, and I did, but I don't like to lose either… and we were not dealing well, that's why, I decided to leave you and join the strongest."

"You must be kidding me!" Laxus said loudly through clenched teeth, his fingers pressing so hard against his palms that it made some small cuts that started to bleed.

"That stupid brat!" Makarov muttered in between the shocked members of the guild, his fists crashing hardly against the railing and cracking it, his face shadowed while he let out a few tears in sadness; he knew he had to keep on looking for the pink-haired, why didn't he do it?

"Erza…" Gray called for his female team partner, gazing worriedly at her crossed arms and her hands clutching her arms strongly; her face shadowed because of her hair. He took one step closer to her, moving a hand to lay it on her shoulder and try to get a reaction from her, but she slapped his hand away and walked out of the place; her fists clenched at her sides. The ice-mage frowned at her, remembering how the night before and a few minutes prior to the start of the fight, she was the only one believing that the dragon-slayer was fine and was going to return like always. He growled, turning around to glare at his old friend, now traitor, with all his hate. 'Damn you, Natsu!'

"Fufufu, seems like the Fairies are not dealing well with their friend's decision." Rufus commented with a small smile, chuckling quietly at their expressions. "I should keep this in my memory for later entertainment."

"Give me a lacrima with the blond's face on it, I wanna laugh too!" Orga demanded to the masked wizard, receiving a curt nod as an answer; both of them happy of the accomplishment from last night.

"Stop gloating, you fools, you make us look bad." Minerva said containing her own happiness, shaking her head at the other two and turning to look at Rogue; he was leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the balcony, keeping vigilance over it and watching with crossed arms at the figures of Natsu and Sting standing face-to-face with Laxus and Gajeel. "Oh, come on, Rogue; the tournament is not over, you'll get to fight that metal-head sooner or later."

"I know." He said quietly, his eyes not moving from the tension point created in between the four fighters.

"Ha! Sting doesn't need Natsu to win; he can beat those Fairies by himself!" Lector cheered with his usual confidence on his friend, Frosch nodding to his proclamation and adding the usual. "Fro thinks so too!"

"Salamander is surely a complicated man, men~" Ichiya from Blue Pegasus said to his team partners and apprentices, all of them troubled by this new development in the Tournament, Hibiki being the most confused of all of them, and most curious too.

"It's not like Natsu-kun to be changing loyalties like this, he surely had a reason, or they coaxed him to join Sabertooth." He commented to the others, well, mostly to himself; his eyes narrowing when another thought crossed his mind. "And the organization, this kind of situation is not allowed, how did they manage to get Natsu to fight for them from one day to the other?"

He looked down in thinking, turning to walk away from the place with Ren and Eve sighing at his behavior, knowing that when something poked their friend's curiosity, it was close to impossible to make him back away from it.

"Jura." Lyon said dryly, crossing his arms in thinking, looking at the pink-haired with narrowed eyes; trying to come up with a more valid reason for him to leave everything behind and turn to the rival guild's side.

"Ah." The wizard saint muttered with the same expression, trying to sense something off in the dragon-slayer, his persona or magic, finding nothing in the end; he shook his head and turned to the exit of the balcony, Lyon following close behind.

"Where are they going?" Toby asked with total cluelessness, receiving a shook of head from Yuka.

"To get some answers, probably."

"Oh~ Natsu-san has certainly changed since the last time I saw him." Milliana said to her team partners, watching with a confused face at the pink-haired; the corner of her eyes letting her know that her nee-san was not okay with his decision of changing sides as neither was the rest of Fairy Tail. "It seems like his guild didn't know of his change of sides."

"Seems like it." Kagura gave as a dry reply, watching at the pink-haired with some curiosity, thinking about the one she found the other day and was in the same guild as him. Her eyes flashed a deathly glint. 'I wonder… would he be willing to tell me if Jellal is truly hiding in Fairy Tail? Or is he still loyal to them?'

"Kagura-san?" Risley asked with some concern, seeing her superior in deep thinking was nothing new to them but, her expression was fighting back a smile and the hand resting on her blade was shaking.

'I guess I'll have to find out after the fight is over.' She concluded with a nod, her expression returning to her normal blankness and her hand stopping its shaking. She gave one last look at the pink-haired, narrowing her eyes to remember his face and attire, not wanting to miss a detail of him to later search for him.

"Natsu…" Jellal said with some anger inside of him, having witnessed Erza's reaction to the dragon-slayer's betrayal; standing up from his position in the upper railings of the stadium, he looked left and right and thought about the first place to seek for answers.

His eyes spotting Sabertooth's lodgings in the distance, he nodded to himself and disappeared from the place. Promising to Natsu, Erza, the others and himself to find out what happened the night before for the dragon-slayer to change sides so suddenly. 'I owe you a lot, Natsu; I cannot see you like this unless you give me a good reason for your actions…'

Mato looked from one side to the other, feeling nervous at being so close to the four dragon-slayers, and more over; two of them were boiling in anger, and if he didn't call the fight to start, he was sure that they were going to force him to do it. He raised an open palm to the sky, trying his best to smile and keep an unconcerned face to the still quiet audience.

"Mages, ready?" He asked dumbly, receiving strong stares from Sabertooth's side and death glares from the Fairy Tail dragon-slayers. He squeaked in fear and dropped his hand to the ground, jumping away quickly and signaling the fight to start.

"Fight!"

* * *

_30 minutes later…_

"I do wonder…" Natsu said in between pants, glaring at his old guildmates with some confusion, his clothes were in tatters, his body was heavily bruised and he was standing shakily in his own two feet. "Was… this really… all you can do?"

"S-shut up!" Laxus said in the same condition, leaning forward and using his knees to support his upper torso with his hands. He had one eye with a burn mark and the other barely open. "S-stupid brat!"

"S-salamander…" Gajeel growled with all the hatred he could muster, standing up again and preparing himself to continue the fight.

"I don't understand; why am I here?" Sting wondered to himself, looking up in thinking; he looked at the public, at his partner and his enemies, his clothes were intact and not a single blow fell his way. "Natsu-san took care of everything after all."

"Because… you wanted to fight me, not them, remember?" Natsu said to him, turning to face him and walk in his direction, showing his back to his old friends that clenched fists at his audacity. "Let's go, the thirty minutes limit passed and there's no victor. It's a draw."

"If you say so." And Sting followed his lead to the other side of the arena, letting Mato and the announcers the job of letting the shocked audience know the outcome of the fight. Not a single person in the stadium believing what they just saw.

From the start of the fight to the very end, Natsu fought against both of his opponents by himself, holding his ground and returning the damage they dealt to him in the same measure. Receiving small boosts of power from Sting's part when he was running low in magic, he managed to fend off his attackers with ease and stand his ground until the limit for the fight reached its end.

"Oh! I almost forgot…" The pink-haired said, calling everyone's attention to him, he moved to show his right side and ripped what was left of his clothes to show his shoulder. Everyone in Fairy Tail looking in shock at the burn he had where his guild mark should be. He grinned and winked in his old friends' direction, patting his shoulder before turning to walk away again; Sting grinning at his action and patting his back slightly. "See you later, my old nakamas…"

"Was that necessary?" Minerva asked him when he and Sting entered the corridor, the rest of Sabertooth expecting an answer from him. He shrugged, rolling his eyes in wonder before shaking his head.

"No, but it's good to leave things clear." He walked past them and headed to the dressing rooms, walking among the people that stared oddly at him with a face of complete indifference before reaching his destination. He opened the door and entered the room, heading directly to the showers and disregarding the person standing in the middle of the room as if she wasn't there.

"Natsu!" He stopped, looking sideways in annoyance before turning around and jumping close to the door to avoid a barrage of swords heading his way. He glared at the person standing in the middle of Sabertooth's medical room, her scarlet hair and brown eyes making him get ready for another fight. Erza called her swords back and glared at the pink-haired with all the hate she piled down since she learned of his change of sides, crossing her arms in front of her to stand in a more defying position. "Why?"

"Why? You ask why?" Natsu said with a low chuckle, shaking his head in fake amusement. "I left that clear, the question should be, why are you here?"

"Answer me!" Another barrage shot away from her and he jumped away again, watching unsurprised how the door was shreddered to pieces and it left their argument be known to the people standing outside. She seemed unfazed by the people looking at the both of them inside of Sabertooth's room, if her glare and face was anything to go by.

He sighed, dropping his arms to the sides and shrugging nonchalantly. "I told you."

"You didn't!" And another barrage was sent his way, together with her lunging to slash at him, the pink-haired avoiding her sword to later stop and lift a hand in front of him, halting the Titania's sword with a frown watching her still angered expression.

"I don't have any more reasons than the ones I said," He repeated, grabbing her sword with his hand and using his free one to stop a knee to his gut. "Or what? Do you want me to say something else?" He hid his face with his pink locks, his grip on her sword and knee tightening ever so slightly; his teeth clenching in repressed anger. "Do you want me to yell my reasons to everyone? My already obvious reasons for leaving! ? Are you out of your mind! ?"

He did his best to contain his feelings inside, not wanting to let her know what was one of his reasons for leaving, not wanting to hear an earful about how silly that idea was; he was tired, tired of Fairy Tail and all of its members questioning his way thinking, he wanted a fresh start in a new place, a place that respects him, a place like Sabertooth.

He pushed her away to the other side of the room, clashing his fists together and calling his flames in preparation for the fight to come, glaring at her with his most serious expression. Not noticing that she looked taken aback for what he said, and not noticing that the rest of his new team and the security of the tournament –the Rune Knights- were there at the moment watching the whole exchange.

"Stand down, both of you!" Lahar ordered to them, stepping inside the room and in between the two old friends, 6 of his men following him inside the room and surrounding the Salamander and the Titania. The brunette stared at the two for a moment, shaking his head in Natsu's direction before facing the scarlet knight. "Scarlet, you shouldn't be here, leave this room before I tell the organization and they disqualify you from the tournament; unless, Dragneel here allows you to stay."

"I don't." He said shortly, dispelling his flames and leaving the room with his new teammates smirking in his direction, some of them patting his back while he tried his best to not look back and see the still glaring eyes of Erza.

He leaved the room and headed to the exit of the stadium, using his nose to avoid encounters with his past friends, his old Master and the members from the other guilds that knew him; he had enough of seeing their crestfallen faces and explaining all over again his reasons for leaving Fairy Tail; what was so hard to understand in his words?

He managed to leave the stadium unnoticed, in between the crowds of people that were whispering to eachother about him and his recent exchange, growling loudly to scare them away every now and then when he noticed the people pointing fingers or looking in his direction.

He was now walking through the city, his senses in alert, for he was still wary of his old friends, and his eyes looking for the big building that was Sabertooth's lodgings in Crocus; not noticing a female figure following him close behind until this one tried to lay a hand on his shoulder. He widened his eyes in surprise, his left hand moving in reflex alone to stop that unknown hand from touching while he turned around to glare at his spy; discovering with some confusion and surprise that it was Mermaid Heel's team leader, Kagura.

"What do you want?" He asked to her in honest curiosity, releasing her hand and moving to hide in an alley when he noticed behind her a pair of figures running in their direction; she followed his lead and hid with him, watching how Lyon Bastya and Jura Nekis ran down the street talking about the dragon-slayer and where he could be.

After they were far away from their position, she turned to faced him and stared at him for a moment before he narrowed his eyes and repeated his question with some annoyance.

"I was looking for you." She said honestly and shortly, earning a confused look from him.

"Eh? Why?" He couldn't picture a reason for her to be looking out for him, he could understand Fairy Tail and the other guilds, but her? Why was she looking for him? She nodded at his question, straightening her position and looking at him with her most hardened eyes.

"I want to know if Jellal Fernandez is hiding in Fairy Tail."

Natsu took a second to register the words, his mouth fighting back a smirk and laugh when the words finally sunk inside his head; he nodded slowly, motioning for her to follow him to the building that belonged to his new guild with an evil smile finally escaping him.

Talk about killing two birds with a stone.

"Let's go, this is not a safe place to talk."

**To be continued.**

* * *

**Talk about being original, ha! And the title, I believe some people will think more of it, like, something of 'two ways'?**

**Whatever, I was writing this and I just let myself flow with my imagination, but do tell, what do you think?  
**

**I believe this is the first story for this pair, great for me... *sarcasm noticeable* I'll work hard and see how can I pull it off and give you all a good story and entertainment; besides clearing my head, obviously.  
**

**So, review and tell me what you think! I can't continue if there's no reviews!  
**

**Saludos.  
**


	2. 1st: The enemy of my enemy is

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I own the idea for the fic.**

* * *

**Treason**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

**Chapter 1: The enemy of my enemy is…**

"I want to know if Jellal Fernandez is hiding in your guild."

Natsu took a second to register the words, his mouth fighting back a smirk and laugh when the words finally sunk inside his head; he nodded slowly, motioning for her to follow him to the building that belonged to his new guild with an evil smile finally escaping him. Talk about killing two birds with a stone.

"Let's go, this is not a safe place to talk."

They walked together, trying to avoid the other guilds' inquisitive searches, and reached the building that belonged to the dragon-slayer's new guild; entering the place with relative ease; just a push of the main doors and they face the other members of Sabertooth, every one of them staring at Natsu in wonder before greeting him and letting him free pass to the stairs, Kagura noticing that everyone was shaking at every step the pink-haired gave.

He smirked at remembering the night when he stormed the building and kicked each and every one of their asses, letting his superiority be known to them.

"Don't worry about them." Natsu said calmly, walking to the stairs and going up to the second floor with the woman close to behind him.

Following him through the second floor, she accompanied him through many corridors, her eyes catching the signs hanging on some doors that revealed her the rooms that belonged to some of the prominent members of the guild before reaching their destination; a door that was next to the guild's Master bedroom, a simple wooden door that was imbued with a terrible-oppressive magic that Natsu was able to open with ease.

He turned to look at her, noticing her questioning eyebrow at what he had accomplish. "This room is for the Master's most trusted wizard, and can only be open if the mage has an undying faith in Sabertooth." He explained, shrugging at her expecting gaze, she wasn't there to talk about that. Though, that didn't mean she wasn't taking mental notes about what he was revealing to her.

'If that's true, you abandoned your guild completely.' She thought with a slight furrow of her eyebrows, already assuming that he changed sides quickly and totally; not bad for her, but bad enough for his previous guild. Fairy Tail was in troubles if this man left them so easily with sensitive information from them, especially, about the former wizard-saint and current fugitive, Jellal Fernandez.

He pushed the door and entered inside the big hall, allowing her eyes to see the accommodations given by Genma to his most trusted wizard; a great living room with good furniture made of the best wood and leather, a bar next to a window that led to a personal balcony, a kitchen with full equipment and a table for six people max close it. She stood next to the entrance, thinking about how his personal chambers bested all of the guilds' room before seeing him walk to the table that served for dining purposes; a hand from him inviting her to take a seat as he asked out if she wanted to drink or something, thing that she denied, she was flattered by his well-mannerism but they had important businesses to attend to.

"You agreed to tell me something." She remembered him the reason for their meeting, taking a seat at one side of the table, opposite to him; where her eyes could see his reactions perfectly. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, crossing his arms as his back leaned against the support of his chair.

"As you wish, Mermaid-san," He said with dry amusement, his onyx orbs staring intently at the black-haired woman seating across from him. "But I didn't agree to tell you about _him,_ I only said that we needed a more private place to talk."

"Then this was a waste of time." She answered sharply, a hand lying on the table to help her stand and leave the place; if not because his right hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her from doing so, she looked at the owner of said hand and saw him glaring at her with a deep frown.

"Wait and hear everything, Mermaid-san, I didn't refuse to talk either." A small twitch of his lips told her he didn't like fast assumptions like that one, so she nodded and sat on her chair again, feeling his hand leave the grip on her wrist to return to its original position. He groaned tiredly and let out a long sigh, watching her with half-lidded eyes, he voiced out his main question. "Why do you want to know if _that guy_ is hiding in Fairy Tail?"

"We have unresolved debts." She said quietly, the small glint in his eyes not escaping her.

"I see," He closed his eyes and looked down, thinking about what he heard and coming with a reason for that. "Your case is the same as mine then."

She quirked an eyebrow at his words, nodding slowly to hear more about it, the pink-haired boy sighing and opening his eyes to gaze at the table with a sad expression.

"I have _things_ to settle with him too, personal things." He gripped his arms tightly, clenching his teeth at the memory. "He took what I cherished the most, and not satisfied with that, he joined the guild… my previous guild, it was easier to cope with the first thing when he was away… but now…"

She thought hard, she used all of her mind, but she couldn't understand what he was saying; she didn't investigate the guy to know what caused or why he had such hatred towards the same guy that took everything from her, but then, he let her know when she asked him. "What did he take from you?"

"He took my mate from me." He growled out, surprising her.

'Mate?' She repeated inwardly. 'Is he talking about 'mate' as in animal breeding…?' She wondered with some new light on the whole dragon-slayer magic thing, it seems their pupils weren't only taught to fight or use magic like dragons, they live like them too.

"Erza would have been all mine if not for _him_…!" He growled again, the grip on his arms tightening, some flames surrounding his shoulders, and his head going down with each memory that replayed inside his head; such a demonstration of feelings, raw feelings and magic, made Kagura's hand move cautiously to grip her sword just in case. "_He_ is but an obstacle… an obstacle I cannot surpass…!"

She understood then, he left the guild because of the pain that caused him to see his _mate_ with someone else, she couldn't say she sympathized with him but she could see from where his pain was coming.

"I want to crush him… obliterate his existence from this world and have her alone and unhappy than with him!" He let out a final growl, clashing his closed fists on the table and breaking it apart, the Mermaid Heel's team leader just changing her sitting position to a side to avoid getting her knees hurt by the breaking furniture; frowning after hearing the punishment he wanted to exact on the knight for not choosing him, though, she wasn't going to tell him that. He eased his breathing, subdued his flames and sat back on his chair tiredly, gasping for breath before nodding slowly. "We might not have the same reason but we have the same goal, right…? Mermaid-san?"

She looked at his now calmed form, softening her features if only by a little, giving only a small nod in response.

"I believe we do." She extended a hand to him, seeing him stare at her hand with a questioning gaze. "My name is Kagura Mikazuchi."

His eyes lingered on her hand for a good ten seconds, narrowing a bit in thinking before he shook it with his, grinning at her with an almost indiscernible wink of eye.

"My name is Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

_In Fairy Tail's lodgings…_

Everyone was quiet, something unusual for them; they couldn't believe what happened that day, what they have witnessed with their own eyes in the arena.

One of their own, the one they thought the most faithful to their cause betraying them? That was something that might have sent anyone to a troubled mind and thinking; they couldn't understand the pink-hair's reasons for leaving.

Gajeel, though, had an idea of why his fellow dragon-slayer did what he did, his eyes staring at the form of the armored mage on the other side of the room sitting along her teammates with enraged eyes; they were all looking down at their table, glaring at the wooden surface, almost demanding the poor furniture for answers.

"That shithead!" Gray yelled startling everyone, his fist pounding the table several times. "I would have expected him to drop off the tournament…! But this…!"

"G-gray… calm down… please…" Lucy pleaded broken, her eyes not leaving the table even after the outburst of the ice mage; some of her wounds paining her when the shook on the table hit her still injured arms. "We are all feeling like you…"

"B-but…! H-he…!" The brunette struggled to hold back his tears, even if he always showed an obvious dislike for the dragon-slayer, he still considered him a good friend… a close friend. He sat abruptly on his chair, crossing his arms over the table and inhaling deeply to keep his emotions in check; not wanting to be seen moping for his traitorous friend's actions. "Damn that flame-brain!"

"I will make sure to let him know our feelings on this matter," Erza said dangerously low, her eyes hidden from view, with her gauntleted hands gripping her elbows strongly. "The tournament's not over, he'll have to face us again."

"Strong words from the one that caused all of this." Gajeel spoke angrily and loud enough for everyone to hear, all eyes darting to see his figure leaving his position on the windowsill and walk towards the Titania, who was looking at him quizzically; a frown letting him know that she did not understand what his words were telling her. "Glare me all you like, it still is your fault…" He sniffed the air around her, his glare strengthening, his brows closing together in dislike. "You stink of Salamander…"

"What are you saying?" She asked clearly puzzled, hearing another set of footsteps in her direction, looking over her shoulder, Wendy was getting closer to her and she sniffed the air as well; her small orbs widening in shock and disbelief.

"I-I can't believe it…!" She squeaked in surprise, looking at the floor with trembling lips, her eyes threatening to drop a cascade of tears; Grandine, her foster-mother, told her of this kind of situations… but to face it by oneself, it was... shocking. "N-natsu-san never told me of this…!"

"Told you about what! ?" Erza demanded for an answer, her point made clear when she stood up from her chair and glared at the two dragon-slayers, her fierce gaze being _slightly _softened on the blue-haired girl; Gajeel scoffed at her attempt to force an answer from him while Wendy just continued to stare at the floor, some tears finally escaping her.

"It's pretty obvious, woman, don't tell me you didn't notice…" Gajeel growled in anger, not believing the strong woman to be so clueless.

As for Erza, she was fuming, Natsu told her the same when she encountered him in Sabertooth's medical room, his face and enraged words telling her that she should be aware of his _obvious_ answer but she wasn't, and she didn't have a clue to begin her thinking process and get to the bottom of the matter.

"You stink of him, Erza." Laxus revealed to her and everyone, his nose twitching at the scent he was able to perceive thanks to the dragon-slayer lacrima inserted in him and his strengthened senses. She looked at him in question, still not understanding what he and the other dragon-slayers were saying. He sighed and shook his head in regret, feeling pity for the guy that set him straight back on the path of light. "He chose you…"

"C-chose me…?" She tried to understand his words, really, she tried; she just couldn't understand what he meant with him _choosing_ her.

"As his mate… for life." Laxus finished while looking down, narrowing his eyes in remembrance of the things he studied about dragons after the lacrima had been implanted on him; the Titania and everyone else gaped in shock as they finally learned of what was happening. The blond man clenched his teeth in anger. 'Idiot… She's not the only woman in the world…'

"M-mate…?" Erza repeated to herself, giving a step back in realization, her mind getting the final piece to connect the dots and solve the trouble she couldn't understand.

"He _was_ in love with you, if you want it in human terms." Gajeel grunted in a rejective tone, stressing the word '_was'_ so she could understand that the matter was lost now; walking away and leaving the hotel, Gajeel couldn't stand the thought of the same thing happening to him, he threw a glance by the corner of his red eyes to a certain blue-haired girl watching him leave, growling angrily at his rival's bad luck.

"I feel sorry for that idiot," Laxus said with a slight shook of his head, his grandfather hearing everything with his eyes close and his mouth taking a swig from his mug. "Still, to do such thing for a womanlike _you…_ I never thought he could stand so low…" And he left the place too, going upstairs to his bedroom, leaving his guild mates watching him with trouble eyes shared in between. His words were harsh as always, they could also understand why he said them, but there was no need to make the scarlet-haired knight feel worse than what she was already feeling.

Wendy though, noticed this and tried to comfort the frozen woman before her, she was also troubled by the crossed-feelings but she couldn't side with the pink-haired boy when Erza clearly didn't know anything of what happened; she stepped closer and grabbed her arm, motioning her to take a seat and think over the matter without standing, fearing that she might collapse. Not that it could happen with the Titania, but it was better to be safe than sorry in the sky sorcerer's mind. "E-erza-san…"

"Wendy… is that true?" Erza asked with a voice so devoid of emotion that the poor girl couldn't help the small wobbling of her legs, joining her fingers together while she wondered if she should tell the truth or lie to help one of the women she admires.

"A-ah… I… Erza-san," She thought hard about something convincing to say that could be half true and half lies, and that could be helpful, but she just couldn't find something to say… so she started to ramble with everything she knew. "I-it is true but he never told you anything…! He…! We dragon-slayers choose mates by letting out some… things I don't remember and the one chosen doesn't know a thing…! We do it to let everyone know that the chosen is ours but…!"

'M-mate…' She thought about everything she heard, gazing at the floor with the little Wendy rambling and rambling about why she shouldn't feel like she was at the moment; still, she couldn't shake the thoughts, she was partially –and maybe completely- at fault for the pink-hair's betrayal and only because of her obliviousness to his feelings.

"I-it's something made to keep other dragon-slayers away but it doesn't work on humans…!"

Erza felt realization struck her again, memories flowing before her eyes as she remembered the happenings of a few days prior to the tournament's opening, their encounter with Crime Sorciere and… Jellal.

They talked, she learned of his wish to be better death than alive after all the suffering he caused and they kissed before parting because Jellal _supposedly _had a fiancée and couldn't be with Erza.

* * *

_Flashback…_

"_Look, Erza!" Happy called for the Titania's attention, the woman tilting her head to a side to see the blue-winged cat drew something in the dirt; not discerning it, she walked closer, grimacing when she laid eyes on the drawing of a heart broken in two. Happy barely containing his laugh while she just gave a step forward and another and then kick him to the infinite and beyond, not standing the cat mocking her with her feelings._

"_H-happy…?" She turned to a familiar voice and rustling in between some bushes, seeing a mop of pink stand out before Natsu appeared in all his painful glory, his body still having some markings over him; the second origin power up was not over. "E-erza…?"_

"_Natsu! What are you doing here! ?" She scolded him, rushing to his side to help him get back to the shack where everyone else was; he raised a shaky hand to stop her, using both to get up from the ground and take a seat with his panting echoing around the now deserted clearing._

"_I… wanted to check on you." He said in between breaths, his head throbbing and his body aching all over. "How did… things go with Jellal and you?"_

"_W-what?" She let out unconsciously, shaking her head and snapping out of his surprising question to answer. "We… come to terms with each other, don't worry, we're okay."_

"_I…" Natsu seemed to flinch at her words, thing she noticed it wasn't provoked by his painful situation. "I… am glad…"_

"_If that was all you wanted to know, here, let me help you." She moved to assist him and take him back to the shack, but he shook his head furiously, standing up on his two shaky legs with his fists clenched, raising one to stop her. She noticed he sniffed the air around them before lowering his head in defeat, something she witnessed with a quirked eyebrow. "Natsu?"_

"_D-don't worry… I… I can go back on my own." He whispered hoarsely, taking the red-head by surprise at his sudden change of mood. He turned to go back from where he came, giving two shaky steps to stop abruptly, tilting his head to look over his shoulder with a shadowed face. "Y-you know I'll be… there for you… if you need me… right?"_

_She stared at him wide eyed, not understanding what he was trying to say, her mind mistaking his words by a supposed fear that Jellal might hurt her again; she smiled softly for his concern, shaking her head with bits of amusement, her brown orbs seeing the corner of his lips going up. "I know, Natsu, and I'm there if you need me."_

"_Ah… t-that's… good." He muttered quietly, his lips twitching upwards awkwardly because he was trying to fake it to not concern her with his true feelings on the matter, he was glad it was dark otherwise she might noticed it. He faced the front again and walked back to where his friends were, a hand going up to wave her good bye. "S-see you in the morning... Erza…"_

"_See you." She nodded at his retreating form._

_Flashback ends…_

* * *

_In Natsu's previous room…_

"Goddamit!" The blond man yelled in rage, punching a wall in frustration and leaving his fist engraved in the stone, the room around him a mess after he went from top to bottom in searching of something that might tell him he was right in his assumptions; not finding more than a picture of Team Natsu under the pink-hair's previous bed. He scanned the bedroom again, seeing the spot where Happy was supposed to sleep, he narrowed his eyes at the sight, the blue cat stormed off after his foster-father changed sides; not forgiving himself for what happened, thinking that there might have been something in him to cause the boy's change of sides.

He felt like an asshole after saying those things to Erza, but he couldn't contain the anger in him, that woman was so unnervingly oblivious sometimes when she always thought of herself as someone with a good intelligence in her team… previous team now. She didn't notice Natsu's feelings and now everyone was paying the consequences even the boy itself, he knew the pink-haired well enough to assume that his final solution was difficult for him.

"Yo, Laxus," A voice acknowledged him from the door, turning to look, he found his grandfather walking inside the room with a serious expression; he half-lidded his eyes in tiredness, knowing what the man wanted to talk with him. "Don't you think you went a little overboard with Erza?"

"Like hell, gramps, she deserves each and every word I have in store for her." He spat angrily, moving to sit hardly on the disheveled bed, supporting his body with his elbows on his knees, glaring at the form of his fist on the wall; his eyes following the small man's way next to him, where the picture from Team Natsu was, the glass covering it broken in Laxus' outburst.

Makarov sighed sadly at the picture, shaking his head with regret. "You see, I always knew that brat hided more things from us than the entire guild combined." He broke the frame surrounding the picture, dropping it aside to have only the photo in his hands, turning it around to let him and Laxus see a picture of Erza smiling to the camera; from the same picture of Team Natsu but enlarged and only showing her. "He pretended to be an idiot, all the time, making us see just what he wanted us to see… to hide his real thoughts from us."

"I still can't believe it, old man," Laxus muttered hoarsely, fitting back the urges to drop and cry, not wanting to be seen in such a weak state; he joined his hands together and pressed them tightly, looking to the window and hiding his face from his grandfather. "He was the most loyal, the best fighter," Like hell he would admitted it in front of the man, but the circumstances called for honesty. "He was the spirit of Fairy Tail in body and flesh."

"Oh? You've been reading a lot it seems." Makarov commented in surprised, taken aback by the words his grandchild said, one way or another, Laxus always managed to move him. But he shook his head in the end, his mind processing everything and adding it up to his old wisdom. "You're right though, he is Fairy Tail in body and flesh… with all the good and bad things in him, our guild might be the first place in allegiance to friends and family, and strength… but it also has its secrets." He sighed sadly, handing the picture in his hands to Laxus. "Take it; give it to him when you have the chance."

The blond stared at the extended hand for a moment, nodding slowly before grabbing the photo and saving it inside his coat, his green eyes flashing with determination, he was going to kick Natsu back to the guild where he belonged. Erza be damned, Natsu's reasons be damned, he was needed in the guild.

"Gramps!" A voice and the sudden entrance of someone inside the room called their attention; they looked at the door and found Gray sweating bullets and panting heavily, his body seemed to have taken a beating, a bad one.

"I-I tried to stop her but…! Erza's gone! She went in search of Natsu!"

**To be continued.**

* * *

**Short, I know, I just wanted to explain a little about the situation before starting with the actual plot of the story.  
**

**Call it a continuation of the prologue if you wish, there were some things left unanswered and I couldn't leave them alone just like that. The first chapter looked like some sort of one-shot, that's what I thought too, so in a spirit of regret for my mistake, I explained things in this one. I hope it was of your liking.**

**Now, let's see, I need to say something else. I'm glad and flattered to read that some authors from this archive -great authors in their own right- think of me as someone to be "look up to" but in reality: I'm looking up to you guys -and gals-, I would have stopped writing a long time ago if not because of your encouraging comments and messages. Ever heard of "from the people to the people"? Well, that's what I think. I'm just another writer, one like any of you, with ideas and words to transmit to everyone and let them read and enjoy -hate in some cases- them what I have to offer. It doesn't matter the pairing, the story, the theme, the words, we are all writers in our own right and we do our best to let the readers enjoy of what they cannot get from the original works. Let's keep on like that, my peers, someday we'll get to see a work of our creation in the libraries... until then, let's keep improving together and giving our best.  
**

**Saludos.**


	3. 2nd: my friend

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I own the idea for the fic.**

* * *

**Treason**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

**Chapter 2: …my friend.**

If he was expecting a reaction from them, he failed terribly, both Dreyars kept their faces in a serious expression, Makarov sighing in defeat while Laxus fell on top the bed to rest a bit with his body relaxing at the contact with the soft surface.

"Let her be, Gray," Makarov said with a small wave of his hand, jumping down from his position to leave the room and head for his own; the Ice Mage's eyes following his figure pass next to him with disbelief written all over his features. "If she wants a heads up from that brat, it's up to her, besides, it is a personal matter between them." He stopped midway to level the brunette with a glare. "Don't interfere, stay here until she returns."

"B-but, gramps…!" Gray received a stronger glare, this time from the blond inside the room, who left his position on the bed and walked to stand next to the ice mage; his figure imposing as always.

"Do as he says." And he left the place too, this time going to his own room, leaving the brunette to watch their retreating backs with clenched fists, not believing their words.

He turned on his heels quickly and ran to the main floor, ignoring the quizzical looks of his guildmates to follow Erza, Lucy and Wendy being the only ones to follow him; asking questions about what the Master said about it. He ignored them, trying to keep track of her magic pressure in the air; she got a lead start so he was sure they were going to arrive later than necessary.

"G-gray…! W-wait!"

"G-gray-san!"

'Shit, shit, shit!' He thought with clenched teeth, making out the upper floors of the guild that took their friend away. He joined his fist and palm together "Ice make, floor!" he changed his running for sliding against the slippery surface of the ice he commanded, leaving behind his two pursuers that skid to a stop after seeing him use the technique.

'Wait, Erza!'

* * *

_Sabertooth's security room…_

"There's nothing…" A cloaked figure muttered in repressed anger, watching each and every monitor in front of it to just see the daily routines of the guild's members, not a sign of the Fire Dragon-Slayer entered or exiting the building except for that morning. He clashed both of its fists on the control panel, breaking it a little as its eyes stared at the lacrima screens with disbelief. "Why? Did they erase everything from last night?"

It was Gerard, obviously, staring at the screens over and over again, trying to find a single clue of the pink-haired being coaxed or forced to join Sabertooth, but he found nothing; the guys in charge of the room were lying unconscious behind him, he didn't have much to worry about but he was in a hurry to get what he wanted and get out of there nonetheless, he didn't want to cause more trouble for Makarov and the guild.

The recordings didn't show a single thing, they showed the members of the team heading back inside to their accommodations but he didn't see a mop of pink-hair among them, though, their words did give a clue of what happened.

"_Natsu-san is seriously powerful, don't you think?" Sting started the talk, stopping just near the stairs to address the rest of his crew, all of them agreeing with him one way or another._

"_Yes, the boy has some potential in him," Minerva commented out loud, nods being sent in her direction. "But we have yet to see if he's truly aligned with us or just playing around."_

"_Ah, I don't believe that to be so, Minerva-sama." Rufus mused with his eyes closed. "Natsu-san would never betray his guild; he's the kind that does things because he feels them to be done as such."_

"_Yes, but Natsu-san is loyal to the core; it's a surprise he actually agreed to join us." Rogue said to them, nodding to Rufus with his arms crossed over his chest._

"_Tch, whatever, Natsu-san is with us now, we shouldn't care about anything else." Orga growled annoyed of their discussion. "If he joined us on a ruse, Genma-sama will take care of him."_

"_Hahaha! So true…" Sting laughed out, smirking at the others with a confident glint in his eyes. "But I trust Natsu-san; I know enough of him to see that he's doing this honestly."_

"_Says the fan-boy of Salamander." Minerva mocked with a low chuckle, the others laughing at her comment and Sting's frustrated face._

"_Enough!" A voice boomed inside the room, the images showing Genma coming close to the group, their expressions in shock at seeing him being carried by a cloaked figure that didn't show his face to the cameras; though, Jellal could still see a wide grin on the cloaked figure's face. "I will not abide you to be playing around about this matter."_

"_Genma-sama…" Rufus choked out with disbelief, seeing the bruised and battered form of his master being carried by that person. "W-what happened?"_

"_I gauged his strength." Genma said dryly, the cloaked figure nodding at his words. "He's more than qualified to be on the Team with you all, but he will remain as a reserve."_

Now, things got confusing for Gerard, he could see that the members of Sabertooth were reacting and answering to something the cloaked figure was saying but he didn't hear anything from it.

_"…"_

"_W-what? And whose place will you take?" Sting asked in disbelief._

"…"

"…_I agree." Rogue answered with a short nod._

"…"

"_What do you all think?" Genma asked aloud to his team, wanting to hear everyone's opinion on the matter._

"_Sure, if he wants to." Rufus nodded giving a satisfactory smile._

"_The better for us!" Orga cheered rising both fists in the air._

"_If Rogue's okay with it… I'm okay with it too." Sting said begrudgingly, casting a look of worry towards his partner, who was stoic as always._

"_I don't see why not, he wants to return the favor to them, right?" Minerva commented with a wink to the cloaked figure, smiling amusedly at the cloaked figure's words._

"…"

"_Oh-ho, you are feisty… I like that…" Orga smirked with a thumb up in the cloaked figure's direction._

"…"

"_Then it's settled." Genma concluded with a nod, the cloaked figure nodding as well and resuming their walk to the second floor. "Sting. You and him will fight tomorrow against that arrogant guild, show no mercy, don't hold back, and display the power of the strongest guild in Fiore."_

"_Hai, Genma-sama." Sting nodded strongly, frowning in thinking of the challenge he had to face the next day._

"_As for the rest of you, I don't want you slouching or acting carefreely, you still have to attain to your trainings."_

"…"

"_Yes, it is, I saw your strength but the tournament demands for everyone in the team to participate." Genma explained to the cloaked figure, this one tilting its head to a side in a tired fashion._

"…"

"_Don't get cocky, brat, you're strong but you still have partners to work with."_

_"…"_

'What is he saying…? I know it's Natsu but his voice is mute…' Gerard clenched his fists at his bad luck, looking down in thinking before shaking his head, he turned around with a copy of the conversation in his hand and started to make his way out of the building but a strong tremor of the foundations stopped him.

'Uh… Gerard?' Ultear's voice ringed inside his head, the azure-haired man concentrating on what she wanted to say, she sounded worried. 'Are you done?'

'I'm done, what's going on?' He asked to her, trying to remain on his feet as the tremor continued.

'Let's say you're not the only one looking for answers…' She said uncomfortably, cutting their talk after a few more shocks.

He looked up in surprise, recognizing the magical power that caused the shaking, he used one of Mystogan's spells and turned into mist, disappearing from the room and reappearing on top of the guild's building; moving to the front, he gazed down, seeing a cloud of smoke coming from the entrance, as well as several lower members of Sabertooth lying defeated around the main door. 'Erza…'

* * *

_Natsu's chambers…_

"That's all I know..." Natsu said with a small frown, watching the woman in front of him attentively, inspecting her reactions. He didn't know if what she told him was true but he could see that she clearly had a grudge against Gerard, and that was enough to compel him into talking and spill everything he knew about that guy that dare to take what was most precious to him.

"I see," Kagura replied with her head lowering in thinking, digesting the information and taking note of some facts she needed to be aware of if confronting the former saint. Her form noticing the strong stare she was receiving from the Fire Dragon-Slayer sitting across from her. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing, just watching." He shrugged and got up the chair, walking towards the exit of his room. "There's someone here to see me, wait until I return." And he left, closing the door behind him and leaving the woman alone, she stared at the door with a quirked eyebrow, looking down in thinking again before feeling a tremor shaking the building.

'What was that?' She thought inwardly, standing up and heading for the door, turning the doorknob she found out it was closed from outside. 'He locked me inside?' She scanned the room, catching sight of the door leading to the balcony; she ran to it and tried to open it, finding it locked as well. 'Why…?' She caught the magic pressure in the air, her eyes narrowing in realization. 'She's here.'

* * *

_Sabertooth's hall…_

"Where is he! ?"

"Stop her!"

"Get out of my way!"

She bellowed in annoyance, using her swords to defeat the few members of the guild that tried to stop her assault, almost all of them falling in unconsciousness and leaving just one protecting the stairs that leaded up to the second floor; the man –dressed in a shinobi costume- trembled in fear and anger at her confident steps, clenching his fists, he lunged forward at great speed, jumping away from a slash he landed next to the scarlet-haired woman and tried to kick her but she beat him to it.

"Ugh…!" He was sent flying against one of the walls, he braced himself for the hard crash but he felt nothing, only a hand on his back that stopped him before anything could happen; looking over his shoulder, he met hardened eyes and pink-haired, his own eyes widened at the sight. "N-natsu-sama…!"

"Dobengal…" He said shortly, not losing eye contact with the woman glaring at him from the center of the room. "I'm sorry for this, but you must leave; I'll take care of her."

"B-but, Natsu-sama…!"

"This is personal and I don't want more members involved." He said finally, his hand coming to rest on Dobengal's shoulder; he stepped forward and walked towards the Titania. "You're fast; get everyone out of here now and don't let anyone get inside."

"H-hai, Natsu-sama." The mage replied with a small respectful bow; disappearing from sight as well as many of the bodies of their guild mates, leaving the two previous friends to stand alone in the hall, Natsu ignited his fists in flames, growling in anger at the woman now facing him with a scowl.

"What do you want?" He asked in anger, one step forward making the ground crack under his feet, he readied his stance and waited for an answer, careful of whatever Erza might pull on him. She shook her head, sending her swords back to her storing place.

"I just want to talk, Natsu." She told him calmly, crossing her arms and expecting him to lower his arms and flames as well. "I want to leave things clear."

"Huh." He grunted unconvincingly, calling off his flames but not dropping his stance. "What do you want to 'leave clear'?" He asked with a low growl, making her notice that he wasn't in the best mood to talk… ever since she arrived.

"Do you… why… why did you choose me?" She asked looking at the side, feeling embarrassed for asking such question but believing it was better to go straight to the point.

"Why?" He asked rhetorically, his eyes flickering for a moment before coming back to their new dullness. He shrugged lazily, shaking his head with his eyelids closed. "I don't know why… it just happened…" He lied the best he could, opening his eyes again, glaring at her and making her flinch. "But it was a mistake."

"A… mistake?" She repeated hollowly, hiding her face from view to hide the pain coming from her heart to her eyes, he nodded grimly.

"Yes, a mistake," He snarled with his fists clenching in rage, perceiving another person in the room. "I should have known that you will never move on from him!" He yelled to the upper floors, extending an arm, he shot a Fireball towards one of the pillars. "Show yourself!" He growled when he saw a blur leaving the place where the attack hit, the cloaked man landing a few feet behind the knight. "Gerard!"

"Natsu…" Gerard whispered with some sadness, this one losing to the anger swelling inside of him after hearing the pink-hair's words to the woman he loves but cannot have. "Stop, you are talking out of rage."

"Oh? And why would I be mad, I wonder! ?" Natsu yelled, lighting his fists again. "She wants to 'leave things clear' and you're eavesdropping!" He shot more Fireballs at the cloaked man, his burning eyes following the man's form dodging his attacks, getting closer with each strike he avoided; his mind remembering all the times he had to prove the scarlet-haired woman his worth and the timed interference of the azure-haired, the tower, Nirvana, Edolas and even on the S-class trials. "You always get in the way!"

"Shut up!" Gerard yelled as well, countering the Fireballs with his Heavenly Beams, the collisions causing small explosions and rising dust in the space separating them, the cloaked-man took time to think about the matter; he didn't know what was that happened to make Natsu hate Erza and him like that but he was sure it was a personal matter that involved the three of them… his eyes widened. 'W-wait, does he…?'

He didn't have time to finish his thoughts since a Fire Dragon's Roar was heading towards him, he jumped and used Meteor to avoid a charging Natsu, moving quickly, he kicked him on the back and sent him plummeting to the ground. The pink-haired rolled on the stony surface and came to a halt on his knees, glaring at the floating man with all his repressed anger.

"Stop…" Erza croaked after a moment, perceiving the fight around her, her pain increasing in knowing who the fighters were… and for what they were fighting.

"I'll show you! You're not the only one that can move fast!" Natsu hissed before disappearing from sight, a trail of flames left on the ground where he was previously standing; Gerard looked left and right, up and down, before he gasped at the force of a burning fist almost breaking his spine. "Fire Dragon's Fist!"

"Heaven's Palm!" Shrugging the pain away with clenched teeth, Gerrard twisted in the air and faced the dragon-slayer; he grabbed his own arm with his other hand, and straightened his palm. A ball of Heavenly Magic appeared in front of it, which then he shot at the traitor, Natsu merely disappearing again and avoiding a strike that completely destroyed the wall behind him. He reappeared behind the cloaked-man again, arms at the ready, while Gerard twisted again with his arms crossed above his head, a small dark orb forming in between his hands.

"Altairis!"

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

Both attacks were launched forward, the resulting explosion sending both men against the walls behind them, Gerard looking relatively unscathed, if not for his charred arms while Natsu got up like nothing, his face graced a bit and his sleeves torn to pieces again. They glared at each other again, lunging in less than a second with new attacks on their hands.

"Heavenly Blast!"

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

"STOP!" Erza cried to the two, her magic seal appearing beneath her feet as the tremors from earlier came back. "Tower's reprise! Two-hundred shackles!"

* * *

_At the front of the building…_

"Ice make! Arrows!" Gray called the spell with his hands holding tightly onto a bow made of ice, his creation, the deathly missiles following a blur moving over the walls, rooftops and on the street, not hitting it. "Stay still, dammit!"

'I cannot win against this fellow,' Dobengal thought grimly to himself, avoiding another barrage sent his way, his eyes flashing with determination when he remembered why he was doing this. 'Natsu-sama ordered me to guard the door; I'll do as he says.'

Focusing his eyes on the arrows, he jumped off the wall when he noticed the barrage coming to him by the front, landing behind the Fairy Tail wizard, Dobengal pushed him forward and disappeared again; leaving an annoyed Ice mage behind.

Doing the same tactic over and over again, being careful of possible anticipations from Gray's part.

"Gray!"

'Oh great… more Fairies…' Dobengal thought disheartened, watching the two girls coming to join the brunette in his fight, Gray explaining the situation to them before they helped him in whatever way they could.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot summon any of my spirits…" Lucy apologized to them, looking down at her casted arm.

"Go inside then and try to stop Erza!" Gray yelled, aiming and shooting arrows again when he saw the Sabertooth member stopping for a second; Wendy and Lucy paling at his orders.

"G-gray-san… how will she do that?"

"Talk to her!" He growled with a vein on his forehead, getting annoyed by the questions and the enemy's dodges.

"U-uhm… O-okay…" And Lucy attempted to run inside the building, only to have Dobengal standing in front of her, an icy stare stopping her in her tracks. "Uh!"

"You cannot go inside, sorry." He said shortly before grabbing her by the waist and leaving gently her close to the Sky Sorcerer, Wendy and Gray surprised to see that he didn't hurt Lucy in any way; Dobengal stood tall atop a rooftop, stopping to think of his next actions. 'I cannot attack an already wounded enemy, even if it's an arrogant Fairy, my honor doesn't allow it.'

"Lucy," Wendy whispered to the blonde girl staring at the ninja on the rooftop. "I'll cast Vernier on you so you can rush inside…"

"O-okay!" Doing as she said, the Sky Dragon-Slayer used the spell on Lucy and saw her rush inside the place, Dobengal lunged again to stop her but stopped half way when another set of arrows got in his way. Their eyes glared at each other before returning to their previous quarrel; Lucy, on the other hand, entered Sabertooth's hall and froze at the sight.

There were two-hundred swords in the room, placed in such a manner that prevented any kind of movement, Erza was standing in the middle with the tips of her scarlet strands floating around her, a light-purple magic seal under her; Gerard was against the wall, holding as best he could to it to prevent a sword from stabbing his neck, and Natsu was on the floor with three swords pointed at his head, chest and belly respectively. The azure-haired gazing worriedly at the knight while Natsu only gazed at her with a distant look.

"I don't know why I chose you, Erza…" Natsu said after a moment, sighing and looking at the ceiling, noticing Lucy's presence in the hall but not acknowledging it. "I really don't know… but it wasn't a mistake." He closed his eyes, thinking about his next words, his chest burning with each wall he had to set up to stop his feelings from spilling out.

"I… I'm glad to hear that, Natsu." The knight said after a moment, though, she didn't call off her swords; she felt relief to hear those words from him, they made her feel warm inside, but she wasn't going to free him just for that.

There was more to hear, more before things could be clear between them.

"But I cannot forgive you," He spat, sadness and anger mixing in his voice, the walls around his heart letting his rage out; his words shocking all of his listeners, but earning a smile from one. "And I cannot forgive him, that's why I won't return to Fairy Tail!"

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered under her breath, feeling sad for her friends and their situation. She understood when she heard about it at the guild's lodgings, the pink-haired did this as a final solution, not wanting to be near the things that might remind him of Erza… or being close to the woman in the flesh.

"Good choice." Another voice said with a pleased tone in its voice, calling everyone but Natsu's attention, suddenly, all the swords floating in the air broke in two and fell to the ground, the seal beneath Erza disappearing while the knight drop to one knee at the abrupt stop of her spell. A figure landed next to the pink-haired and extended a hand to help him stand which he took gladly. "Need a hand?" Natsu nodded to Kagura, her eyes turning to glare at the azure-haired man against the wall with Natsu doing the same, Erza watching her sudden appearance and hearing her words with a sour taste in her mouth, she believed she was imagining things. "Should we terminate him now?"

"No, not now." Natsu said with a calming sigh, his feelings now in check, he dusted off his clothes and stretched his muscles. "He needs to suffer a lot more."

"I believe you're right." The Mermaid Heel mage nodded at his words, understanding and liking his train of thought.

"N-natsu… what is she doing here! ?" Erza asked to him in disbelief, finally finding her voice to question him; she did not like what she was seeing, especially after she remembered her conversation with Millianna the other night. 'If they are together… that means…!'

"Easy, she and I have a goal in common." He said with a small shrug, smiling deviously at the scarlet knight and confirming her fears. "Let's say we both want to see 'blue' stained 'red'." He let out a small cackle, seeing Gerard widen his eyes at the implications of his words.

"T-they want me dead…?" The azure-haired muttered under his breath, he understood Natsu's reasons for fighting him… but, was his rage so bad that he wanted to see him dead? And what about that woman?

"That's a way to put it, yes." Kagura said with a slight nod, her hand never leaving the grip on her sword's handle or her eyes the sight of Gerard a few meters away from them. 'So close.' The former saint looked at them both for a moment, especially the brown-haired woman; he shook his head after feeling a heavy migraine coming to him. He knew her, but he didn't seem to recall from where. "We should leave."

"Uh?" Natsu looked at her for a moment, focusing his eyes on the ground when he felt several presences rushing in their direction. "Yeah, we must." He looked at Gerard for a moment, both sharing another glare before he crossed eyes with Titania, giving one last devilish smile. "Bye… Fairy…" Erza felt like a spear pierced her chest with that word.

Natsu laid a hand on his Kagura's shoulder and before Erza or Gerard could notice, they disappeared from sight, the same trail of fire left in the pink-hair's wake; it showed they left to the second floor. Not sooner he left, Sabertooth's tournament team appeared, demanding an explanation from their rivals… receiving none since Erza left the place without uttering a word to anyone, Lucy following close behind her, and Gerard disappearing in his mist.

* * *

_Later that night…_

"Seems Genma-sama won't forgive you for what you did to the hall," Sting said to the pink-haired man leaning against the railing of the balcony, he walked inside Natsu's dorm to talk with him, his mind bugging him to know if there was more than just being stronger in his idol's mind. "Though, he's happy you fought those Fairies, says 'that shows to whom you're loyal'."

"Uh-huh…" Natsu grunted lazily in response, watching the city at night, hearing the blond's footsteps and his presence next to him, adopting his same position.

"Natsu-san… can I ask you something?" He started uncomfortably, scratching his cheek with a sole finger.

The pink-haired man nodded.

"Why did you join us?"

Natsu let out a long sigh, shaking his head to erase the memories coming to him, his eyes watching the lightly illuminated city before them. "I'll tell you why… but first, do you know of a dragon-slayer greatest weakness?"

Sting looked up in thinking, his eyes widening after a moment as his face turn a bit pale, if not greenish; the pink-haired sweatdropped at the sight.

"It's not motion-sickness." He reassured, watching the blond come back to normal after hearing that, as well as releasing a sigh of relief. Natsu lit one of his hands on fire, setting the white dragon-slayer on guard, he extended his arm forward. "Touch this."

"Uh?" The blond looked at him as if he was crazy, knowing that the senior's flames were hotter than any other fire, but after seeing a reassuring nod from the pink-haired, he lifted a hand close to the fire; his eyes widened when he failed to feel the natural heat, passing his fingers through the fire and not feeling anything. "C-cold fire?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded sadly, calling off the flame and turning to see the city again. "Ever heard of 'dragon mating'?"

**To be continued.**

* * *

**Puf! That was hard to write, but I made it, sorry if there's no scene between any of the girls and Natsu... but I believe it's still too early to do something like that. Plus, it's hard to forgive, my friends, remember that. Especially something like this... in Natsu's case, obviously. *sweatdrops*  
**

**Thank you all for your support and reviews, I really appreciate them.  
**

**See you in the next chapter then, I hope you enjoyed this one.  
**

**Saludos.  
**


	4. 3rd: Thou, who admired me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I own the idea for the fic.**

* * *

**Treason**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Thou, who admired me...**

_Before the tag team battle._

_Sabertooth's lodgment._

_Natsu's chambers._

_*Knock-knock*_

_Natsu diverted his eyes from the ceiling he was staring at, moving to sit properly on the couch before calling to whoever was outside to enter, an eyebrow raising in wonder when he saw the guy he beat easily the first time he came to that building. He tried to remember his name, but his mind failed him at the moment, too concentrated on the coming battle._

"_Excuse me, Natsu-san."_

_The man said, his attire consisting on a ninja costume and a mask covering the lower part of his face; he gave a short bow and approached the pink-haired, kneeling in front of him much to Natsu's surprise._

"_I come to offer you my services."_

"_U-uh… who are you? __I don't remember it."_

_Natsu managed to blurt out after the initial shock, staring at the man as if he was crazy._

"_My name is Dobengal… Y-you defeated me with a single punch when you attacked this place the other day…?"_

_The man introduced himself, sweatdropping at the pink-hair's poor memory._

"_Ah! Yeah! I remember you! You're that fast nin-nin guy!"_

_Natsu exclaimed with a big grin, jumping off the couch and extending a hand to the guy._

"_Y-yeah, I… I'm the nin-nin guy… but you were faster, Natsu-san, that's why I come to offer my abilities to you."_

_Dobengal acknowledged with a nod, accepting the offered hand and standing up to face the guy that beat him._

"_I don't get it."_

_Natsu said plainly to him, quirking an eyebrow in wonder._

"_I was defeated by you; my honor dictates I should be at your service."_

_The ninja explained solemnly._

"_U-uh? Why didn't you do that when…? Oh… forget it. Sorry but I cannot accept that…"_

_He was going to ask a silly question, why didn't he propose so when he was in Fairy Tail? Obviously, it was because Dobengal would never leave Sabertooth and Natsu was part of the rival guild; clenching his fists, he shook his head at the offer._

"_Why?"_

_Was the simple reply._

"_I don't want to have someone 'at my service'… we're members of the same guild, if you want, we can make a Team. That way, we can work together AND, if I'm the team leader, you'll do what I say."_

_Natsu explained with a small smile and nod, uncurling his fists and putting a hand on the man's shoulder, his words surprising him._

'_Isn't it the same…?'_

_Dobengal thought with a confused expression._

"_It's not the same; we would be friends working for the same purpose."_

_Natsu continued to explain, sensing the man's thoughts._

"_And what's our purpose?"_

_Dobengal asked, taken aback by the man's philosophy._

"_Duh! Do jobs, kick some dark wizards' asses, and grow stronger! Don't tell me you don't want to be faster someday… faster than anyone!"_

_The pink-haired grinned broadly, asking his question with his arms crossed._

"_O-of course I want to be faster…!"_

_Dobengal spoke nervously but resolved, having never been encouraged to fulfill his dreams._

"_Then that's your reason! I want to be stronger too, and the better if I have someone coming with me!"_

_Natsu patted his shoulder, his grin unfaltering_

"_Natsu… san…"_

_Dobengal blurted out in astonishment of the words and attitude of the guy that defeated him._

"_Ah, drop the '–san'! It makes me feel old!"_

_Natsu said with a fake disgusted face, earning a chuckle from the blond mage._

"_Natsu-sama then, I'll be in your team… so, what would be my role for now?"_

_Dobengal concluded with a nod, confidence and gratitude seeping from his voice and eyes; Natsu smiled smugly at him, giving him one last pat on his shoulder before they both headed for the door._

"_Uh? Do what you like, if I need your help I'll tell you, after the tournament is over, we'll look for a job and go for it!"_

_Natsu told him calmly, shrugging and disregarding the curious looks sent their way by some of the members in the corridor._

"_Hai, Natsu-sama."_

_And he disappeared from the place before Natsu could tell him to drop the '-sama'._

_Natsu sighed after the man left, returning to his place on the couch, resuming his thoughts and trying to see if his decision was the right one. He hated to be in the guild with the others… with her… with him… he couldn't stand it, it was painful; for a Dragon-slayer, who can only love one person for the rest of its life… it was a torture._

_He looked at the clothes handed to him by some of the members and fought back the smile on his face, remembering his conversation with Dobengal, this place respected him, they didn't care for his intelligence, his past or his reasons for doing things. They only care for his strength and loyalty to the guild, nothing more, everything else was forgivable. Though, he was still a little irked about the incident of the other night, his fight with Genma… even if he couldn't change the guild's way of thinking, he could still keep and share his own ideals with those that are under his command… _

_Dobengal, for starters, the rest of the guild later; if he's lucky, he will make the place a bit more like the one he just left, where he believes he should be able to ease his pain and try to forget._

'_It's not a bad idea in the end.'_

_He thought with another sigh, standing up, he grabbed his new clothes and went to the bedroom to change; throwing the clothes given to him by Mira when they returned to Magnolia after the 7 lost years, casting a last glance and smile at them before burning them to ashes._

_After a few minutes, he stood before the mirror of his bathroom, inspecting his new look and the new guild stamp on the back of his left hand. He grinned and nodded to himself, going back to the couch to resume his thinking._

'_Even if I leave, even if I state a reason for leaving, they are going to try and take me back… she in special, she won't let this happen, and if I talk with her… she'll see through my lies, as always. I need to make it clear, I need to make my point clear and continue with this, I don't want to return, I don't want to see them… but… if I get the chance or if they annoy me enough… I think I could take on a little payback to ease my pain.'_

_He chuckled darkly at his last thoughts, this being interrupted by a loud bang on the door with Sting's voice calling for him._

_It was time._

'_So… let's see some shocked faces.'_

* * *

_Later that day, after Erza's assault and Natsu's talk with Sting…_

A big building like Sabertooth's in Crocus has all the commodities that one like Fairy Tail's precarious hotel doesn't; they had a training room, a lunch hall, several single rooms for their top mages and spacious shared bedrooms for the rest, a library, a pool and hot springs in the basement and, of course, a top of the line Infirmary. That's where our hero is at the moment; looking out for the first member of the team he created in his new home.

"How are you?"

Natsu asked to the resting form of his blond teammate on the bed, a serious expression and scowl examining the bandaged wounds he got from trying to stop Erza on her rampage earlier, his eyes making a quick check-up on the other members inside the spacious room.

"I'm fine, Natsu-sama, nothing new for me… I'm sorry, I couldn't face her."

"Don't be, she's much stronger than you."

Natsu spoke in honesty, a grimace contorting in his face, he knew he had to wait for her in the hall but instead, he wasted time and his new guildmates paid the prize; seeing him staring at him with such a serious face, the blond flinched and attempted to resume the talk.

"I…"

"I should apologize to you; I knew she was coming but… I was not there in time; she hurt you and the others, all because of my stupidity!"

The dragon-slayer continued, shaking his head in regret and halting the Dobengal before he got to sulk over his failure. Dobengal looked at him in surprise; the man never stops surprising him, he had a deep care for those he had as partners. A trait that, even if he wasn't in Fairy Tail anymore, he carried with him everywhere.

"Natsu-sama… I-it's my fault, please, don't take the blame."

"Why not? It's my fault."

"B-but…!"

Natsu glared at him, cutting his self-loathing.

"H-hai, Natsu-sama… though, I believe we're both at fault."

The pink-haired quirked and eyebrow at that last sentence, he nodded to hear more of it; the blond cleared his throat, look at the sheets covering him and later at his wounds, he lowered his head in apology, believing that he was stepping beyond his limits with what he was going to say.

"Me for not being stronger, and you for not being smarter; what happened is a consequence of our weaknesses."

Natsu stared at his teammate for a good long minute, making him get all shaky and in fear before he letting out a tired sigh, easing the man's tension with a carefree grin.

"…You're right, it seems like we have a long road ahead, huh?"

He winked at the blond, showing a fist to him.

"Let's become stronger together, Dobengal…"

"Yes."

Dobengal accepted the truth with a simple nod, meeting the pink-hair's fist with his own, watching the dragon-slayer heading for the door with a smile brimming of confidence; now Dobengal had a goal and someone with whom to accomplish it.

"Good luck tomorrow, Natsu-sama."

"…Thanks, and you recover quickly, we have many jobs to do after this is over…"

Natsu was going to tell him to drop the honorific, but decided against it, there was a time for everything; he looked over his shoulder and gave a thumb up.

"Hai."

Stepping outside the infirmary and heading for his room, Natsu found Rufus and Orga next to his door, both men nodding at him and walking to meet him in the middle of the corridor. The dragon-slayer looked at them quizzically, waiting to hear what they wanted to say.

"Can you tell us what's going on between Titania and you?"

Rufus asked gravely, demanding an answer to his question; the situation in the stadium and the attack on their building by the same woman spiking his interest, he brought Orga along to ensure that an answer would be given.

"I can tell you, but if answer me something first."

"Sure."

"Why do you want to know?"

Rufus and Orga shrugged their shoulders uncaringly at the question, not having an adequate answer to give.

"We are only curious about our new partner, that's all."

Natsu looked at them with a quirked eyebrow, trying to see if they were lying or seriously interested in his trouble. He saw the curiosity brimming from Rufus' eyes, the man only wanted to know more, as he said, and add more knowledge about him in his memory; while Orga was just tagging along, nothing more in his mind that can entertain him, so, why not ask Natsu about why he came to Sabertooth? Besides the reasons he gave to them the previous night.

"Okay then, let's go."

He motioned for them to follow him inside his room, closing the door behind him and locking it from the inside.

He didn't want any more interruptions.

* * *

_Tournament's organization building._

"As we told every single mage and person that came here before you, we allowed the participation of the mage Natsu Dragneel in the tournament because he and the Master of Sabertooth, Genma-sama, agreed to certain conditions."

"And just what are those conditions of which I wasn't told?"

"Restrain your anger, Master, this kind of business is always in between the mage in question and the Master of the guild to which he wants to go."

"I see, so, even if he didn't have my consent, he still is able to switch bands and take part in an important thing such as this?"

"That's right; we made it so to stop cases like the ones from previous years. Some mages were forced to fight for a guild and didn't want to be involved in the games, to help those mages, we set this rule. Dragneel's case though, it's special, he wanted to leave because of certain dislike towards some members in Fairy Tail. He explained you allowed the inclusion of one new mage that's disliked by several guild members without letting everyone aware of it, so, that makes his reasons valid."

'Gerard… figures, I hope he didn't tell them about his impersonation as Mystogan.'

"Okay, now, can you tell me the conditions you set for him before I destroy this place?"

"Don't play reckless, Master, you're in grounds under the King's and the Council's protection, if you make some nonsense like that, you'll be executed."

"As for the conditions, Dragneel won't be able to participate in the next 2 tournaments, and if he does something like this again, he will be forbidden to participate in the games for life."

Makarov looked at the board of the organization with wide eyes. Did he hear right? Did Natsu truly accept this kind of conditions? Just cause…?

"I recommend you return to your lodgings and organize your team for the day after tomorrow, Master; originally, today was going to be a free-day to let everyone prepare for the Team Battle of the last day… but because of the incident of the Naval Battle, we had to postpone the Tag-Team Battles for today and the free-day for tomorrow. Go now and reorganize, your team is short in one man, right?"

He nodded gravely, giving a respectful bow to the board before turning on his heels and marching out of the place to find Laxus and the First waiting for him outside the room. His expression told them enough, so they remained silent, leaving the building of the organization and heading to where the rest of the guild was waiting at.

"That brat, I never thought he would react like this to a short term decision! Of course, he has every right to be mad and even tell me to think over it again, but to leave like that?! Making it look like I was some slave driver to the organization? That stupid brat is seriously in trouble!"

Makarov started to rant with the other two at his sides, listening to his words with serious expressions, thinking over the matter carefully since the Sixth Master was still too enraged from what he heard a few minutes ago to think straight.

"Anyway, Gramps, you should have foreseen this… you were the one that knew of Natsu's feelings on the matter, you could have told him or ask him his opinion about it."

"Like I would do such a thing! It was to make the Guild's Teams stronger, I didn't know he had such deeps feelings for her, if I would, then my decision would have been different!"

"What's done is done, we cannot change the past, now we must face the consequences and prepare to confront our friend in battle. If what he said is true, he won't back away, he gave up on many things for this."

Mavis told the Dreyars with a distant look in her eyes, shaking her head in regret before stopping them by floating in their way. A question hanging in the men's minds, what did she mean with 'for this'? As if reading their thoughts, she told them what she could discern from Natsu's actions and words, a not so encouraging objective to them.

"He will give his all to obliterate the cause of his pain in this tournament, he knows he won't have a chance like this one again so he's surely planning to take on Gerard in the last event, and return the pain Erza caused him in equal measure by killing the one that holds her heart."

Both men looked at the First with wide eyes, not believing her reasoning.

* * *

_Fairy Tail's lodgings._

"Wendy…"

"Hm?"

"Get up, you don't help by staying there mopping about Natsu and his actions."

Charle spoke with indifference on the matter but she was also feeling down, what happened cause her friends, Happy and Wendy, to be mind-shattered… Happy was the man's partner since birth, this sudden change in him turned his world upside down, and Wendy, she believed in the pink-haired more than any other member in the guild, she too was suffering over his decision. And after knowing that it was because of the dragon-slayer mating issues, she felt even more down, probably because her low confidence and usual self-discouragement told her she could suffer something like Natsu in the future.

It didn't take a genius to notice, all the dragon-slayers were feeling like that after learning of Natsu's case.

Gajeel was obviously mad about it, he left the building that afternoon and still hasn't return.

Laxus was in rage, because of Natsu's betrayal and Erza's obliviousness to his feelings, and he left that pretty clear when he vented out his frustration on the woman in question.

Wendy too was shocked, but the first thing she did when the initial storm stopped, was to wonder: What if the same happens to her? What if she chooses someone as her mate and this one is in love with someone else? How will she react? The same as the others? Or will the pain be so strong that…?

Grandine told her, taught her, that when a dragon-slayer chooses someone to be its mate, it's for life, you won't be able to choose another one, you will love, protect, cherish and only have eyes for this person. A very romantic thing, in Wendy's previous opinion, but now that she was seeing what happens when there's something or someone in the middle… she could only harbor doubts about the whole business.

Charle could only wonder how the dragon-slayers of Sabertooth would react when knowing the truth behind Natsu's joining, but she was sure that they were going to side with him. Out of comradeship, pity and rage, seems like all the male dragon-slayers are bound to have the same reaction over the subject, so it wouldn't be surprising to find them fighting side-by-side with Natsu to help him.

"Charle…?"

"Yes?"

"What if the same happens…? You know…"

"Don't think about it, Wendy, Natsu's case is special. For what we know, this might be the first time it ever happened, so, I don't think you or the others might pass for the same time."

Wendy twisted on her bed, facing the ceiling and letting her friend see the redness in her eyes, she cried until she was out of tears after returning to the hotel without the Fire Dragon-slayer or even with a positive word from him. If what they were told later by Lucy was true, Natsu was making plans to stay indefinitely in Sabertooth and make everyone in Fairy Tail pay for what happened.

"Charle…? Can you…?"

"Sigh… I'll try."

She knew what she wanted from her, whenever something troublesome happens, Wendy always asks for her to try and see into the future. To find something that might give her courage or distract her mind from the present for even the slightest moment.

The white cat closed her eyes and sat on the bed comfortably, concentrating on the feeling she always had whenever she had her premonitions. It took her a good 20 minutes until she was able to sense it, she started to see flashes of what was going to happen… though, she did not know when or where.

"_Please… don't force me to choose between the two of you!"_

_Erza's voice sounded in her mind. It was cracked, it was filled with pain and agony, and for the sobs she could hear after her initial shout… she was crying._

"_I will be the one to end this! I'll return the pain ten-fold and you won't be able to stop me!"_

_Natsu's voice was fierce and full of bad emotions, sadness, pain, rage, jealousy, regret… his heart was loose and whoever to whom he was talking would be in all its rights to be frightened… or even feel pity for the heart-broken man._

"_Get out of my way, I have to help her!"_

_Gerard? He was in a rampage, avoiding several strikes sent in his direction, he clenched a fist and connected it with someone's face at the same time that person's fist connected with his._

"_Natsu, don't do this, please… stop."_

_A woman's voice, she could tell it was Lucy, but why was she begging him to stop? She didn't sound too convinced in her opinion, it was more like she was asking for another alternative to the matter._

"_This is the moment I've been waiting for since I grabbed this sword, the moment to take everything from you, as you did with me."_

_That woman Lucy told them about, the one who helped Natsu when he was cornered by Erza in Sabertooth. She was holding her sword with both hands and in an inverted fashion, staring at someone below her with a look of pure contempt._

"_Erza!"_

_Natsu? Calling out for her desperately?_

She couldn't see more, the time her ability left her to take a peek was just so much as practice allowed her, which in this case she regretted she didn't have; she only got to see bit and pieces of what will happen now, and together with the premonition of the whole place falling apart… it wasn't encouraging.

When Charle opened her eyes and met Wendy's hopeful ones, she immediately looked down and shook her head.

There was nothing good in the future, only more pain and conflict.

* * *

_Crocus' streets._

"We followed that cloaked figure since you left the stadium and the battles ended, it came here and got inside that house."

"Good, did you manage to see its face?"

"No, but we saw for its legs that 'it' is a 'she'."

"What do we do now?"

Meredy asked her two senior in wonder, looking at the building and the dimly lighted room in the second floor, it looked like the person they tailed that afternoon was about to sleep. Whoever she was, she was radiating a lot of magic… and most of that magic resembled the presence of Zeref.

"We could move in and try to get some answers, or wait until the last day to see what she does… Gerard?"

"…"

He was thinking hard on the matter, but with the earlier event in his mind, it was for naught; he couldn't shake off his head the glares and words said by those who were inside the hall belonging to Sabertooth. Natsu loves Erza, that was pretty clear, but since she loves him –Gerard- she cannot return those feelings… even when Gerard himself left clear that theirs was a futureless relationship.

No matter how, no matter when, no matter where or why, some way or another destiny will set them apart. Sadly for him and her, it was like that, he understood during the time she was absent, that they had everything and nothing. Just a fleeting grain of hope in the turmoil of the wind was what they had, and it wasn't enough, so he hoped for her to move on.

"Gerard?"

"…Uh? Yeah, let's do the second."

"Are you okay, Gerard? You were spacing out…"

"…"

"Is this because of Salamander?"

The man looked down as an answer, narrowing his eyes when listening to Ultear's questions; she was right on the spot like always. Though, should he deny it? Tell a lie and move forward with their current actions or try to talk with her about it, to see if she had an answer or a thought that could help to all that was going on in a single day.

No, he thought finally, it would be too selfish of him to do that. It would be better to concentrate on this and leave the business regarding Natsu, Erza and Fairy Tail for another moment. Meredy said it; it would take a day to decode the tape and know what was whatever the pink-haired said during that dreadful night to the members of Sabertooth when he joined them.

He could only hope that in there, he could find something to bring the dragon-slayer back to where he belongs.

Next to the woman Gerard entrusted him with after the first meeting they held before the tournament's start.

…**shall suffer delusion.**

**To be continued.**

* * *

**And Natsu's road of revenge starts with the emotional damage. Pretty good, huh?  
**

**Right now, after letting my steam off, I managed to write this in an hour, and came up with a good way to name the chapters and make honor to the title of the story and its summary. Yes, I'll name the people who are going to be on Natsu's actions receiving end -in an implied manner- and tell at the end what will happen to them...**

**Of course, this is by no means a bashing of characters, it is just the way the story comes to my mind. It looks like a bashing, but well, that's what happens when you want to exact vengeance... you hurt people in many ways and bring out the worst in them.  
**

**Treason, the name pretty much says it.  
**

**Stay tune to see the next chapter, I already have it in my mind and all that's left is to write it.  
**

**Saludos.  
**


	5. 4th: Thou, who betrayed me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I own the idea for the fic.**

* * *

**Treason**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Thou, who betrayed me...**

_The next day._

_Sabertooth's training ground._

"If you want me to be honest, you two are weak… you didn't hurt me seriously... and you were fighting together."

Natsu explained to the exhausted forms of Rogue and Sting, the three dragon-slayers having settled the night before a training session to gauge their strengths for the final part of the tournament. Both the Shadow and White Dragon Slayer knew from the fight their senior had with Laxus and Gajeel at the same time that they were lower in skill and power to the members of Fairy Tail. But after the first part of the sparring match finished, even with their Drives and Dragon Force activated, they were unable to force Natsu to his knees or even push him to go all out.

Was there really such a huge gap between them?

"But that's why we're here, right? To change that and make you stronger for tomorrow." Natsu grinned brightly, walking close to them and helping them to get back on their feet, the guys reluctantly accepting his help and getting shakily on their feet.

"Gah! Don't say that, you know we cannot get stronger from one day to the other."

"That's true, there's not enough time."

Sting and Rogue breathed out, going to sit on a bench next to the training ground, where Rufus and Orga were watching the sparring session with shocked expressions. Natsu shrugged and sat next to them, supporting his body with his arms on the bench. "Ah, that's right! But we can, at least, make you resistant to their attacks… you have the power but you lack the experience. You guys didn't fight the people I have to… strong mages, dangerous ones…"

"Like Oracion Seis and Grimoire Heart?"

"That's right, in those moments, there's no time to get stronger, and you only have time to improve the way of your attacks." Natsu explained grimly after Rufus' question, looking at the morning sky with narrowed eyes, remembering the hard battles he went through 7 years ago and the experience he gained from them. How to fight Wind Magic with Erigor the Shinigami, melt the coldest of Ices with Lyon Bastya, how to counter other Fire Magic users with Totomaru, resist the strongest of attacks with Gajeel and Laxus, someone that has a large arsenal and incredible powers with Gerard, fight against an opponent that can read your moves with Cobra, the deathly Darkness Magic with Zero, a machine like opponent in Edolas with Faust, Gildartz and the acknowledging of one's weaknesses, God-Slayer Magic with Zancrow, Voodoo Doll with Kain, and the hardest of them all… against Hades, Master of Grimoire Heart, in a battle to the death.

It still surprised him when he thought about it. How did he survive those situations? Was because of Luck? Or truly because of his trust in his friends… in her…

'…'

He shook his head when the image of her came back, looking at the members of Team Sabertooth with sharp eyes that meant business. The four guys felt a little startled when they saw his eyes, fighting back the need to voice their opinions out of fear. They didn't know the guy enough to tell if he was in mood to talk or not, but, given that they had an important match the next day, Rogue continued and voiced their thoughts.

"In other words, we need to experience those kinds of battles."

"In a life or death battle you get better, out of despair and fear, but in the end you're stronger than before."

"And how do we get that? The strongest dark wizards were all taken down by Fairy Tail 7 years ago."

"That's were Rufus' magic will help." The pink-haired smirked while standing up, completely changing his serious face of before while laying a hand on the masked man's shoulder, his words earned him some confused expressions. He coughed on his fist and started to explain what he had in mind. "Listen, you use Memory-make, right? Then create an enemy from my past for them to fight against."

"Oh, so the ice mage told you of my ability, huh? I understand what you want me to do, though; I thought you wanted me to transmit your experiences to them…"

"Uh? Why? You can do that?"

"Yes, in theory I can, but the mental strain can leave you out for a week, or dead, it depends on the mage's will." Natsu looked at everyone for a moment, thinking over the matter, it would be better like that but it'd put in danger the people around him, his new guildmates. Plus, they didn't have the time to do that if they survived the passing of memories, so, he shook his head in the end, sighing tiredly and going to back to the bench.

"Then let's try with the recreation, we can try the other thing at another time." The guys nodded uncertainly at his decision.

Rufus stood behind the pink-haired and put one hand on Natsu's head with the other laying over his own forehead, concentrating on the memories inside the man's head. 30 minutes passed and nothing, but they kept on with it while Sting and Rogue took time to recover and Orga warmed up for whatever Rufus might make from the ex-fairy's head and memories.

"I've got it." Rufus muttered with a small smile, his magic appearing around the place and taking the form of a tall man in front of him and the others; for the white hair and long bear he had, the man was old, he had an eye-patch over his right eye and a huge crown that covered his face's sides and big horns on top, a black cape hanging from his shoulders, he was dressed for battle if the gauntlets and greaves on his arms and legs meant anything. "Master Hades of Grimoire Heart."

"Yeah, he will be enough to give you the experience you need… he was hellishly strong when we fought him 6 on 1."

"6 on 1?!" Natsu cleaned his ear with his little finger after the loud disbelieving scream Orga and Sting gave, ignoring them and narrowing his eyes at the old man that almost killed him on that fierce battle in Tenrou Island. Rogue narrowed his eyes as well, sensing the dark wizard's strong aura. Even if the thing was a memory, he could feel him leaking enormous quantities of evil energy from his body.

"Okay, I recreated the worst and strongest enemy in Natsu-san's mind, while I keep him visible and under control, you should train with him."

"If you managed to get him moving, the first part of your training is over, the second part is to get him to use more than the normal spells, the third, you have to make him kneel... and if he removes his eye-patch… you will be ready for tomorrow's battle."

Rufus and Natsu explained to the others, the first sitting on the bench to keep the memory working and doing the training while the second walked towards the exit after setting the objectives for the others. He knew that Rufus didn't need to train against Hades to learn how to defeat him. After checking his memories the man should be able to use that in battle without need to actually experience it.

"W-wait! Natsu-san! You're not staying?"

"No, I have things to do; this is a free-day after all…"

'A free-day for whom?' The guys thought with a small sweatdrop, watching the pink-haired turned on a corner and leaving the grounds before hearing someone chuckling darkly at their expressions. Facing ahead again, the old man was crossing his arms and watching them amusedly, his eye gazing at each one of them like someone who watches a fly hitting a window over and over again.

"So you, young mages, are my opponents? I can't believe I have to fight against some low-beings like you all."

"What did you say?!"

"Calm down, Orga, he's taunting us to the offensive."

"Tch! He's pretty good at it."

Orga was immediately pissed off after hearing Hades talk about him like some kind of insect, his pride as a member of the strongest guild kicking in and almost making him lunge towards the old man if not because Rogue stopped him from doing so; both guys glared at the dark wizard with contained anger, clenching their fists tightly while thinking of a way to strike him.

"Remember what Natsu-san said, this is to get the experience we need for the last battle tomorrow! We cannot rely on Minerva and him for that battle! We need to make a good impression too!"

Sting reminded his partners with a confident grin, feeling excited to fight one of the old enemies of his idol; though, Hades started to chuckle and then laugh heartedly at the words, making them all frown when he leveled them with his eye narrowed in seriousness.

"The mistakes people make are eventually labeled as experience. But with a true mistake, there will be no experience to be gained. Because the mistake you made taking me as your opponent will leave you with no future."

"Okay, seems like he's serious about that…" Sting commented with another sweatdrop, now feeling slightly nervous about fighting the old man; though, he watched in alarm at the infuriated Orga rushing forward with a fist at the ready, aiming to punch the old man and later electrify him with his black lightning. But much to everyone's surprise, Hades grabbed the fist easily and, using the momentum, tossed Orga to the air. Using his magic chains, he grabbed him in mid-air by the legs and threw him against Rogue, who was coming to attack him from behind, releasing his magic chain to let the two mages crash against the ground.

He didn't give a single step, he remained where he was, expecting to see Sting do something while staying consciously aware of the other two standing back up and surrounding him from the back.

"Fools, numbers and tactics matter little when the opponent is beyond your league."

Sting snorted at the words, making the memory look at him in curiosity, he stopped himself from laughing and grinned confidently, preparing his stance along his partners to give a combined attack.

"Now then, why do you think we're fighting against you?"

He rushed forward at full speed, bringing the light to his hands before crashing them down to the floor before the bored old man, the following explosion not doing more than blowing up the ground and raising a cloud of debris around the area. Rogue took the opportunity and moved forward to strike while the enemy was blind sighted, gathering his shadows, he let them out in a fierce roar.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

"Pitiful."

Hades said behind Rogue, surprising the dragon-slayer. Leaving him to watch how his attack broke through the cloud and hit Orga on the back, the man went to strike without noticing the attack sent from his fellow. The cloud cleared, Orga skidded against the ground a few meters before stopping with a fist penetrating the ground, he stood up while cleaning the dirt from his face, glaring at the man standing behind his friend with all his frustration coming up. Sting watched the friendly fire with shock, it was silly to think that they had the old man blinded with that tactic he pulled at the start; he was a veteran, it wasn't the first time he engaged in battle with someone.

"Kids these days, they believe being able to defeat others like them qualify them as strong. I'll show you what's strong supposed to be."

* * *

_Outside Sabertooth's building._

"So? Where are we going?"

Natsu stopped at those words. He just left the building and was going to check what was going on in the city when Minerva appeared in front of him, smiling amusedly at his confused expression. He narrowed his eyes and shrugged, showing that he didn't care if she followed him or something. Unsurprisingly, the Master's daughter caught up with and walked next to him, both staring ahead without really talking more than necessary.

"Fu, I wonder how they will end after that training you set for them."

"If they are true dragon-slayers and really wish to win, they'll pull through it without too much trouble."

"Still, to have them fight the worst wizard in history… that's a lot."

"It's not Acnologia, they should be fine…"

"Acnologia?"

Minerva asked with a quirked eyebrow to the sighing pink-haired, watching him gaze at the shops and houses at the sides of the road with a distant look.

"It's the dragon of the apocalypse."

"I know that, what I meant was, would you really have them fight that creature?"

"Not even if they beg me… that dragon is not something to mess with, he bested everyone in my… former guild, even old man Makarov. And when Gajeel, Wendy and I attacked it with our dragon-slayer magic, the damn thing didn't even bulge."

"But Sting and Rogue killed dragons before…"

"Acnologia is not like the others. For what I heard, it follows Zeref's orders and sees every human as something not worth its time."

The woman narrowed her eyes in thinking. Imagining the strongest mages of 7 years ago fighting that legendary beast, only to witness and compare it to what could be like a fight between normal bandits and the Master of a guild like theirs. Too much power, so much that there's no way to beat it. She heard her new teammate sigh again, calling her sight to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's following us, don't look back."

Again, an eyebrow raised in question. Doing as Natsu said, she looked ahead, pretending to be walking and talking with the pink-haired normally; her senses alert and sensing that indeed, there was someone following them… and now that someone was rushing at them at great speed. Both of them turned around immediately with their fists up, expecting an attack from someone, maybe from Fairy Tail, but instead Natsu was tackled to the ground.

"Natsu!"

By a blue winged cat.

"H-happy…? W-what are you doing here?"

Natsu asked clearly confused, patting his best friend to calm him down. Happy was crying and shacking uncontrollably, his state showed that he had a rough day and night, probably because he went to the forest outside of Crocus to avoid being found by the others.

"I want to go with you, Natsu! I don't want to stay if you're not there!"

"Shh… Happy, calm down… let's talk about it calmly."

"Seems like you two have personal things to talk about, I'll go and do some sightseeing of my own."

Minerva told the reunited friends with a small smile, watching Natsu get up from the floor with the sobbing cat in his arms. He nodded at her words, turning around to continue his stroll through the city as he continued to sooth the poor Happy.

'Too bad, I couldn't ask him about Titania and the incidents…'

She shrugged nonchalantly, facing another way and walking away from the place.

'I could ask the guys about it, though.'

"N-natsu…"

"Shh… Happy, calm down…"

The man whispered soothingly to the cat in his arms, walking towards an alley where he could talk without getting interrupted. He knew his former friends were still looking for him, even after the events of the previous day, he knew they weren't going to give up that easily. But returning to the matter at hand, he left Happy on the ground to stand on his own two paws, patting him one last time before urging to talk.

"I want to go to Sabertooth with you, Natsu…"

"No."

"What?"

The answer was quick and sincere. Natsu sighed when he saw his foster-son's face going sad and tear stricken again; he laid a hand on his small shoulder and explained his reasons.

"I cannot have you there Happy. Even if I want to, that old man won't allow it, he barely accepted me in the guild… I had to fight him to prove my determination and win my joining. Besides, I have a task for you in Fairy Tail…"

"W-what is it…?"

* * *

_Crocus' main square._

…**shall fall.**

**To be continued.**

* * *

**Damn, that took a LOT longer than I was expecting. Sorry for the gruesomely long tardiness, but I found myself wondering if I was going on the right path with this story at the moment.**

**There's something I want to ask and it's not for myself, please, a loud cheer for the brilliant Arakan7 for helping me brainstorm my way out of this trouble and being an awesome beta, and comrade. You guys should all go check out his stories. If you like what I write; I promise you, you'll love what he has to show.**

* * *

**(A/N from today: As you can see, I wasn't lying when I said I was stumped with this story... this is as much as I got shortly after publishing chapter 3... and I never moved forward from it. *sighs* Sad really, I was seriously enthralled with this story... to see it end like this... I have no words... just... sorry, for not meeting your expectations.  
**

**Anyway, I thought you all deserved to know how far I wrote about it... and see for yourselves if I was telling the truth or not.  
**

**Sorry to leave it like this.  
**

**Saludos.)  
**


End file.
